Better Together

Children do best when their parents and carers work together in partnership with school. To do this our aim is to make you feel welcomed and valued. As your child’s parents or carers, you are and will always be their most important teachers. It is our job to work alongside you and support you to make sure your child’s time with us is safe, happy and successful.

We organise events every term for you to come into school to share in your child’s learning. This may be a meeting with your child’s teacher, an open morning or workshop, a whole school celebration or our termly sharing mornings where you are invited into the classroom to share your child’s learning with them.

We encourage all parents and carers to get involved in our school life. Come and talk to us about becoming a parent volunteer, helping in school, a parent governor or a member of Friends of Hatherley.  We also like to hear your ideas about how we can improve what we do at Hatherley Infant School and have an annual Happy School Questionnaire in which you can share your thoughts and ideas.

Please come and talk to us if you ever have any concerns or worries. School have an Early Help Offer which lists examples of how we can help and also has some useful contacts.  Together we can usually sort most problems and we know how to access support or expertise from other professionals or community groups.

Partnership with Parents

We look forward to working together with you in partnership to foster a safe, welcoming and secure environment for our children.  We know that children do best when their parents and school work together in partnership. To do this our aim is to make you feel welcomed and valued. Please remember that as your child’s parents, you are their most important teachers.

We aim to build on the learning that will have already taken place with you at home. We invite parents and carers to a wide variety of different events during the year but we welcome parents at anytime.  We have an open door policy so please come in to talk to us at anytime.

We visit all of our children at home before they start in reception. This helps us to make sure we find out all that we need to know about your child so they have a happy start to their time here.

How do I find out about my child’s learning and progress?
At the beginning of each year we have a ‘Meet the Teacher’ meeting for parents and carers to meet your child’s teacher. They will tell you all about the exciting things your child will be learning about during the year and how you can support your child’s learning at home. There will also be at least two opportunities during the year to come and talk with your child’s teacher about their learning, progress and how else you can help your child with their learning.

How do I contact School?
Please keep in contact with us and always come and see us if you have any questions or concerns or to keep us informed about anything that is happening at home which may have an impact on your child’s learning or well-being. If you want to see your child’s teacher, after school is best or you can come and talk to the Headteacher or Inclusion Lead. 

How will school contact me?
Please make sure we have up to date phone numbers so we can contact you easily, particularly in an emergency or if your child is unwell.
We send out fortnightly newsletters, so please check your child’s book bag every day. We also send out text messages, particularly to remind you about important events

We thank you in advance for respecting the ‘Better Together’ ethos of our school.

Our School Day

The school day begins at 8.55 a.m.
Parents and children are welcome in the playground from 8.45 a.m. Between 8.45 and 8.55 a.m. children come into the classroom and straight into the school hall for “Wake and Shake.”

Assembly takes place at 9:00 a.m. until 9:15 a.m.
Throughout the year we hold assemblies to celebrate special occasions such as Harvest, Diwali and Easter.

Every term, we invite parents in first thing in the morning to share children’s work.

In Year 1 and Year 2 (Key Stage 1) the school day is then organised into five sessions. Generally these include an English lesson, a Maths lesson, Read Write Inc phonics session and a topic or P.E. session. Children work as a whole class, in small groups, in pairs and individually. They have the opportunity to work with several adults during the course the day.

Children in KS1 have a mid-morning 15 minute break at 10.45 am when they have a fruit snack (provided by the Fruit and Veg Scheme) and milk or a drink followed by an outdoor playtime. Children generally go out to play whatever the weather so will need suncream and sunhats in the Summer and hats, scarves, gloves and warm coats in Winter months and a waterproof coat for much of the rest of the year. If weather conditions are severe (either too hot, too cold, too icy or too wet) a decision may be taken to have an indoor break.

In Reception (Early Years Foundation Stage), the day is structured differently to take account of child initiated learning and continuous provision.

In Year 1 and reception children have lunch between 12.00 noon and 1pm.  In Year 2 children have lunch break between 12.15 and 1.15pm.

The school day finishes at 3pm.

Eating at School

All infant children are entitled to a free school meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme. School meals provision is through Caterlink and are prepared and cooked on the premises with fresh ingredients and a good variety of fruit and vegetables.

The current Caterlink menu can be viewed here.

Packed lunches should be healthy and balanced and should not contain chocolate bars or fizzy drinks.Children are encouraged not to bring crisps every day and sharing their food is discouraged.

In school we believe lunch time is an important time of the day when we can:

• Nurture and build friendships
• Teach table manners
• Promote a balanced diet

Fruit in Schools Scheme

We also take part in the National Fruit in Schools Scheme where every child in school has a piece of fruit as a snack each day. Children are encouraged to eat the fruit provided and to drink milk or water.

School Milk

School milk is available FREE for children under five and costs around £14 per term for over-fives.
Parents can register and pay on the CoolMilk website

Uniform

We wear our uniform with pride and it helps us to remember that we all belong to the Hatherley Infant School family. Please label every item of uniform that comes into school.

Sensible footwear at all times is essential.

Jumpers, Cardigans, Polo Shirts, Baseball Caps and Fleeces with the Hatherley school logo are all available to buy at Monkhouse in Gloucester.

Newsletters

You can read our school newsletters right here:

Term Dates

How can I help my child?

At Hatherley Infants we believe that the best learning is the result of a special partnership between home and school and we actively encourage all parents and carers to be co-educators of their children. Here are some ideas for things you can do to help your child with their learning and progress.

Talk to your child in the morning about school routines and what they might be learning that day. Ask them about their day on the way home. What did they learn? What did they enjoy the most?

Listen carefully and be patient, do not fill in words or finish sentences for them. Give them time to talk. As often as possible talk to your child in your first language.

Enjoy books together. Read to your child as often as possible. Share the reading books your child brings home and encourage them to read to you. When your child brings a book home from school try to hear them read a little every day. Your child’s class teacher can give you ideas if you are unsure how to do this or if your child is reluctant. You can find some top tips from readforgood.org here. All children benefit from hearing stories read to them and talking about them. Remember that the library has lots of books for your child to choose from, and it is free! A bedtime story should be relaxed and enjoyable.

Try to go on outings and talk about the things you see answering your child’s questions. Go out to the park and play ball games, skip, ride bikes and scooters, go for walks in the countryside e.g. Robinswood Hill and point out special or interesting things, make collections.

Encourage your child to hold their pencil correctly and form lower case letters using school guidelines. At school we use lower case letters except for first letters of names and at the beginning of sentences.

Play board games such as snakes and ladders or other games which use dice, complete jigsaw puzzles, play card games such as snap, talk about numbers, look for shapes and patterns inside and outside, count with your child.

Watch TV and films together or play computer games together.  It is really important to talk to them about whatever you are watching or playing as this will help to develop their vocabulary and understanding.

Make sure your child has a good night’s sleep, don’t let them watch T.V or play computer games before bedtime. Make sure they have breakfast before coming to school.

Write in their learning journals and Reading Diaries at home.

Come to school events – parent meetings, special assemblies,  special events, curriculum workshops and open mornings, ‘sharing learning mornings’ and talk to staff if you ever have any concerns or questions.

Your child will bring a letter home each term which will explain the theme for the term and the learning map which will set out the learning which is planned. Please read this and support by talking to your child, getting books from the library, researching on the internet, having family days out etc.  Alongside the Learning Map, we provide homework grids for you to chose from a range of activities to share with your child throughout each term.

Remember everyone learns at a different rate, so try not to compare with brothers, sisters and friends. Give lots of praise and encouragement to help your child to succeed.

See the learning and curriculum pages for subject or year group specific information on how you can help.

How can I become involved?

• Become a parent volunteer. Extra adult supports helps all children. Parents can help with activities to support learning across the curriculum e.g. reading, cooking.
• Become an active member of The Friends of Hatherley Infant School. The Friends raise money through organising a range of activities for children and families.
• Become a parent governor. Governors take a long-term interest in the life of our school, making sure we provide the very best for every child.

Praise and encourage your child. Have fun together.         

Remember you are creating happy memories for your child.

Attendance

We work very hard with children and families to encourage and promote good attendance. It is one of our priorities. Expected attendance is for every child to attend school every day and on time.

Why is it important to come to school every day?
Coming to school every day is very important for your child.  Research shows children with poor attendance:

• find it harder to make and keep friends
• are less likely to leave school with good qualifications
• have a much higher chance of being unemployed or in poorly paid jobs
• have a negative self-image and low confidence.

Children who miss school miss out on valuable learning. Success in school is directly related to good attendance. The better the attendance the better the achievement. It is also very important that children get into good habits about coming to school every day right from the start.

When is absence authorised? 

Obviously children should not come to school if they are unwell. They need to stay at home and rest to get well. They also need to stay at home so they don’t pass on illness to others. This is particularly important if they have had a tummy bug. Public Health England advise that children should not come back to school for 48 hours after their last bout vomiting or diarrhoea.  If children have poor attendance due to lots of illness we will recommend a referral to the school nurse or paediatrician to ensure there are no underlying health issues which need to be addressed.

When is absence not authorised?
The following reasons are not acceptable for missing school:

• Your child’s birthday – we always celebrate birthdays in school and make children feel special.
• To go shopping – you can go after school
• Waking up late – although we would rather you came in late than not at all
• To go on holiday – although exceptional circumstances may be considered if the request meets the criteria in our attendance policy
• School uniform hasn’t been washed – children can wear home clothes to school, we always have spare uniform in school which your child can borrow
• Your child won’t eat their breakfast – bring it with you and they can eat it in school
• Your child doesn’t want to come – together we can find out why they are unhappy about school and sort the problem out.
• Another family member is ill – we can help find someone who lives near you who could bring your child to school if you are ill.

Any child with attendance less than 90% is classed as having ‘persistent absence’. Good attendance is over 97%.

If your child is away for more than 9 days a year they will not have good attendance. If a child misses one day a week by the end of the school year they will have missed 39 days of school and that is over 200 hours of learning!  Looking ahead to the future 90% of young people with absent rates below 85% fail to achieve five or more good grades of GCSE and around one third achieve no GCSEs at all. Poor attendance at school would suggest to colleges and employers that the young person is unreliable.

It is vitally important for children to attend school for the following reasons:

• To learn
• To have fun
• To make new friends
• To experience new things in life
• To develop an awareness of the wider world
• To love learning and achieve well
• To develop new skills
• To build confidence & self-esteem
• To have the best possible start in life

By keeping a child out of school we are stopping them from experiencing and gaining these important things.
Research shows us that young people who regularly miss school without good reason are more likely to become isolated from their friends, to underachieve in examinations and become involved in anti-social behaviour.
A child’s education is very important, so the law is strong when it comes to helping a child receive their entitlement to it. Where we have concerns about a child’s attendance we always do our best to work with parents, to offer support to overcome the reasons behind poor attendance. However, when parents are not prepared to work with us we will inform the local authority which could result in legal action.

Why is it important to come to school on time every day?
It is better to be late coming to school than not coming to school at all. However, we always encourage punctuality at school. Not only is it a good habit to learn from an early age as ‘learning for life’ skill but also being on time is important for every child because:

• It helps them have a positive start to the school day, settling in with everyone else
• It helps them make and keep friends
• It improves their confidence and sense of belonging
• It means they don’t miss out on important learning time

By regularly arriving late children can miss out on a lot of learning time

• Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to 3 days lost over the school year
• Arriving 15 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for nearly 2 weeks over the school year
• Arriving half an hour late every day is the same as being absent for 18 days over the school year

Being late can:

• Be embarrassing for your child
• Damage your child’s confidence
• Lead to your child being confused and missing important information at the start of the school day
• Also disrupt the learning for the other children in your child’s class

How can I help my child come to school every day and on time?

• Make sure your child understands the importance of good attendance & punctuality
• Take an interest in your child’s day at school. Talk to them about it. Your child will value school more if you do.
• Take a positive interest in your child’s learning by hearing them read at home, practise their writing & maths. Your child’s teacher will send home an overview of the learning in school every term and how you can help learning at home.
• Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
• Make sure your child has good sleep by turning off the television, computer, tablet etc. half an hour before bedtime so your child has time to relax. Don’t put the television, computer, tablet etc. on in the morning until your child is ready for school.
• Help your child get everything ready for school the night before e.g. school uniform, book bag, P.E kit
• Attend events in school e.g. assemblies, Learning Conversations with your child’s teacher
• Arrange family holidays during the school holiday and not during term time
• Arrange routine visits to the dentist, optician, hairdresser etc. for outside of school hours
• Talk to us if your child doesn’t want to come to school for any reason so we can sort out any problems and make sure school is a happy experience

Talk to us if you are experiencing any difficulties at home which might impact on your child’s attendance or well-being. We may not be able to solve every problem ourselves but we usually know someone who can help you.

Applying for a school place

 School places at Hatherley Infant School are overseen by Gloucestershire County Council (GCC). To view the Admission Criteria for a GCC community school such as ours please click here. Please then click on the link to the Determined Admission Criteria and Scheme for the required year, and our Admission Policy is shown under GCC Admission Arrangements.

Joining Hatherley at Reception

We have one intake each year, at the start of the Autumn Term.  Reception children are normally admitted to school in the September following their 4th birthday.  The Published Admission Number (PAN) is a maximum of 30 children in each Reception class; with a maximum intake of 60 children.  Infant Class Size Legislation states that there should be no more than 30 children in any infant class.

The whole Application Process is managed by Gloucestershire County Council.
Your application can be completed online on the GCC website.

1. Parents apply in the Autumn before their child is due to start school.
2. Places are allocated by Gloucestershire County Council the following April.
3. If choices haven’t been met, parents may request reconsideration and appeal.

Admissions during the academic year (all years)

Parents of children moving into the area, are welcome to make an appointment to visit the school.  An In-Year Application Form then needs to be completed and returned to school with proof of residency.  If there is space in the year group, arrangements are made to admit the child.  If no place is available, parents are informed by letter, and informed about the appeals process.  Children refused a place due to over-subscription are automatically placed on the waiting list.

For full details of Admissions in Gloucestershire please visit the County Council website.